India promotes med, rain tourism for Arabian tourists
To promote round-the-year tourism in the country, India has taken a number of initiatives to woo more tourists from the Arab nations, with a thrust on medical and rain tourism.
By PTI |
DUBAI: To promote round-the-year tourism in the country, India has taken a number of initiatives to woo more tourists from the Arab nations, with a thrust on medical and rain tourism.
"The Indian government aims to develop the country into a sustainable tourism destination. Our economy is booming and so is incredible India.
"Various initiatives are under way in the tourism sector with the sole objective of attracting more visitors to the country," Sanjay Kothari, Additional Director-General in the Ministry of Tourism, told PTI.
Kothari was here to take part in the Arabian Travel Market convention which opened yesterday.
Indian states taking part in the four-day long event include -- Kerala, Delhi, Jammu and Kashmir, Goa, Uttarakhand, Assam, Pondicherry, Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh.
Kothari said the tourism ministry has launched integrated international media campaigns to promote India as a must see tourist destination. The campaign focuses on both generic and niche areas to convert the country into a destination for 365 days a year.
The theme for the West Asian market is "Chasing the Monsoon", he said.
The recent introduction of Medical Visa would help in the growth of medical tourism sector, Kothari said, adding under this visa, a patient along with an attendant can come to India for a period of one year, which can be extended further up to three years.
"India is also a shopper's paradise with its traditional handicrafts from different regions of the country and modern shopping malls in various cities," he said.
"The Indian government aims to develop the country into a sustainable tourism destination. Our economy is booming and so is incredible India.
"Various initiatives are under way in the tourism sector with the sole objective of attracting more visitors to the country," Sanjay Kothari, Additional Director-General in the Ministry of Tourism, told PTI.
Kothari was here to take part in the Arabian Travel Market convention which opened yesterday.
Indian states taking part in the four-day long event include -- Kerala, Delhi, Jammu and Kashmir, Goa, Uttarakhand, Assam, Pondicherry, Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh.
Kothari said the tourism ministry has launched integrated international media campaigns to promote India as a must see tourist destination. The campaign focuses on both generic and niche areas to convert the country into a destination for 365 days a year.
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The theme for the West Asian market is "Chasing the Monsoon", he said.
The recent introduction of Medical Visa would help in the growth of medical tourism sector, Kothari said, adding under this visa, a patient along with an attendant can come to India for a period of one year, which can be extended further up to three years.
"India is also a shopper's paradise with its traditional handicrafts from different regions of the country and modern shopping malls in various cities," he said.
With the Conference and Convention Tourism gaining importance, India has announced several schemes to increase the capacity of existing infrastructure and construct world class international convention centres through private- public partnership in Delhi, Mumbai, Goa, Bangalore, Kochi, Hyderabad and Thiruvananthapuram, he said.
"Infrastructural facilities in the country are being augmented in a well-planned manner. With an open sky policy providing better air connectivity, the aviation system has been radically liberalised," Kothari said.
In order to overcome the shortage in accommodation, efforts are on to build 150,000 hotel rooms in the next four years, he said. Besides, the new 'Bed and Breakfast' scheme has been launched to cater to the requirements of more tourists.
The tourism ministry has also proposed to create a Land Bank by acquiring land from land owning agencies for building hotels in PPP model, he said.
The Urban Development Ministry has agreed to allot three sites in Delhi to the Ministry of Tourism which would help in meeting some accommodation requirements of tourists in the national capital in view of the forthcoming Commonwealth Games, Kothari added.
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